rcapilli

I have been cycling for about 10 months now. I am moderately active. I go to the gym at least twice a week. I do not do any cardio other than cycling. I did a Sprint Tri in July this year so I trained a lot for that. I am 31 years only and eat fairly good. 204lbs at 6'-0". I am about 25% body fat. Just trying to establish a foundation for you here. I have included a link to my HR and Altitude that I did today [11-2-05]. My question: Is my HR accurate? I mean does it look realistic? This is straight from my HR monitor, Polar S750. It just seems really high to me. It spiked to 200 BPM. It has gotten as high as 204 before. Let me know what you think and can you give me some tips to lower my HR while cycling?

https://www.franticphotos.com/0personal0/HR.jpg

2Rodies

You really should see a cardiologist and have him give you a thorough check up including a stress test. No one here can tell you what your proper HR should be. My max hr is 172 while one of my team mates is 209, we both know this because we've been properly tested.

Figaro

How long have you had your HRM? Could it be that you get the high readings from electronic interference?
My MHR is 180, but several times a month I get readings of 198 or 226. That's just not happening in this body. I live very close to a small airport that I pass on almost all of my rides. I suspect that my fairly regular HRM errors are due to interference from airport radar or something.

chrisvu05

It looks like the spike in HR corresponds to the top of a hill which makes sense. As far as 200 bpm, I think the technical max for someone at 31 yrs old is 220-31 = 189 bpm but 200 is not overly far out of range if you are out of shape or just getting started...the more you ride the lower that peak will be on the same hill.

jock

The graph shows no signs of outside interference. It doesn't show anything else abnormal, and probably reflects exactly what was going on inside.

A high HR is not necessarily unusual, and a maxHR of 204 at age 31 is not unreasonable. However a sustained high heartrate is a bad thing if you are not fit. It places undue stress on the heart and can lead to various heart conditions or even heart attack. A good training program prepares the body for sustained efforts with a reduced risk of such complications.

operator

That forumla is best used when you stop using it. It's not even worth it for a general idea.

chrisvu05

kind of like the formula for BMI? a guarantee if you walk into a doctors office and you ask him what your absolute max heartrate should not exceed he will say 220 - age. I was just using it as a small reference although probably not completely accurate to tell him that his peak of 200bpm was less 6% higher than what would be calculated by a doctor. 5% is considered significant but this all depends on his fitness level.

jock

100% correct operator.

The common formulae for MaxHR vs Age are statistical derivations of the mean of an unknown sample size with an unstated standard deviation (ie. the typical spread around that mean). In other words: those formulae are USELESS.

Elvish Legion

So my theorical max HR would be 203? I think that is def busted I don't know max but I would be amazed if it peaked at 203...

Ineedhelp

My normal aerobic heartrate is 220, after roughly 10 minutes of warm-up--if I work harder it goes right up there. I have low blood pressure and for me, this is just normal. It's genetic.

Everyone's different. If you are concerned about your heart rate, it probably would be best to go to a doctor and have a complete workup done.

NJWheelBuilder

That HRM is very accurate. My heart rate has climbed up to the mid 190's. Keep excercising and you'll see it starting to drop when doing the same exertion.

If you're interested, send me a message and I'll send you a screen shot of some of my sessions for reference.

If you have a real concern, see your doctor.

rbart4506

I'm with you on the interference thing....My max HR is about 185 and recently I hit 240 on a ride...I don't think so!!!

rbart4506

Or would you not stay at that peak level and just go up the hill faster??

SAB

The 220-age formula is a rule-of-thumb. It is neither exceptionally accurate, nor completely useless as some have suggested. The only way to find out what your max heart rate really is you would need a cardiopulmonary stress test. This test can be done using a treadmill, cycle ergometer, or rowing ergometer. It is performed in a cardiology lab or sports physiology lab. It can tell you your actual max heart rate, as well as anaerobic threshold, oxygen consumption, etc... There are some test methods that can be at home with a bike trainer and heart rate monitor, but these are not nearly as accurate as the real thing for determining your personal physiology.

chrisvu05

that would work too, i was saying the more he rides the more fit he will get so when he goes up that hill at his current speed the peak will be lower. But you are right in that he would more than likely be able to go up the hill faster because it would take more work to get his heart to that peak.

John Wilke

Nobody has asked yet, so I will.

Was this an easy ride? or a HARD ride?

What's your resting heart rate and what is it sitting, walking, laying down? (use the same monitor)


John Wilke
Milwaukee

DvB

I have the same model HRM (I think you meant "S725"), and I'm very familiar with the included software (which is excellent). Your readings look fine. Your heart rate goes up, appropriately, on the uphills, and down, appropriately, on the downhills. Your max of around 200 bpm is totally reasonable for someone your age. It is perhaps a bit higher than average, but not alarmingly so.

Regarding "tips" to lower your HR while cycling . . . talk to God. Your max HR is what it is. As you get fitter, you'll find that you'll be going faster at a certain perceived exertion level. But your HR isn't going going to lower itself unless you consciously ride slower.

FWIW, the "220-age" formula is, according to all I've read, largely worthless. However, it EXACTLY predicts my MaxHR -- while RUNNING. I'm 37, and my carefully determined MaxHR while running is 183 bpm. It's way off in terms of cycling, where my MaxHR is 175. People tend to forget that MaxHR tends to be sport-specific. I don't know what my swimming max would be, but I'd guess it'd be less than that for cycling.

Anyway, don't worry about it.

--DvB

rcapilli

These are all great replys. I really appreciate it. I am not concerned that my HR was a bit on the high side. I was just amazed that it was actually that high. Then I started to wonder if something was wrong with the HRM. Did I have it set up right etc.. But the more I read about it I realized there is no "set up" feature for the HRM, therefor I am what I am. This is a great piece of equipment that I feel every jocky and runner should have. Great tool. As for one question that I got above.. "Is the ride hard?". It is considered a semi-challenging ride. Within 13 miles there are a lot of climbs and as you can see it's around 900 feet of Assent that was totaled for the ride. For me, that is a pretty good ride. It's called the Buckhead Bellyache in Atlanta GA. There is a longer path that has a really big climb in it. I'll do that next time I go and send my results back.

I have to admit, my HR does not stay at 200+ BPM for very long. So I do believe (from the replys) that the monitor I have is accurate and working just fine. I think I will go to the doctors to see what my true max is so that I have a better baseline to go from. Thanks for your replys. I will check back to see if other people have replied to this and get there opinions as well.

meme

Huh? I haven't taken any courses in human physiology...but isn't max heart rate, max heart rate? How can it vary with the activity that you're doing???

StanSeven

I know with me it's very difficult to reach my max cycling while I can do it easily running with a long hill and gradually picking up the pace. I usually can't reach in on the bike even when I try sprinting uphill. About the only way I come close it seated on a really long climb and forcing a continuously faster pace.

zakk

i would say that looks like a hard ride for you. everyone is different. some TT at 170, other at 195. who knows?

I'd suggest being tested if this is an issue of concern or interest, or if you have faint spells, cloudiness, etc. while you ride.

DvB

Well, yes and no. Since my running MHR is 183, and my cycling MHR is 175, then you could say that my "maximum" heart rate is 183. But I'll never get to 183 while riding a bike, no matter how hard I work. This is because of the different muscles used in the two activities, and the relative efficiencies and oxygen use specific to those muscles (we're quickly approaching the limit of my knowledge on the topic). So say I'm doing intervals at my lactic threshold, which is about 91% of my cycling MHR or roughly 160 bpm. That same heartrate while running is closer to 87% of my maximum -- which is about right (for me) for 30- to 45-minute steady runs. So if you're paying attention to your heart rate while training, it's important to consider the activity at hand.

--DvB

cyclintom

It is common for people who weren't particularly athletic to take a couple of years for their heart rates to match their power outputs like REAL(tm) athletes. This is because you need to grow in a blood vessel system which has a variety of reactions:

1) It increases the amount of blood in your body.
2) It reduces the backpressure necessary to pump a given amount of oxygen into your muscles and extricate the various toxic byproducts of muscle activity.
3) At the same time as your blood vessels are grown so is your heart and it will develop a longer stroke which will bring your heart rate for any given power output down.

So don't be surprised if your heart rate doesn't match the "standard" that you've seen in books on training. Eventually it will close in to the ideal if you continue to train.

One thing to watch out for is if your heart takes a long time to recover from hard efforts. That doesn't necessarily mean anything but is a warning that you aren't recovering normally.

My daughter's record at the Nevada City races was spectacular with her heart rate peaking to 200+ in the first 100 feet of the climb and holding that to the top and then dropping to 80 as she hit the flats on top and during the descents. During the entire race this didn't change in the least.

merlinextraligh

I'd suggest you read one of the HR training books that describe how to determine your max HR, and more importantly your lactate threshold. Once you know those numbers, then you can start doing a program based on HR, and make better use of the HR info.
Chris Carmichael's book covers this, as well as others.

timmhaan

first thing i noticed when i got my HRM was: damn, my heart is going really fast!

on the trainer it's much lower than on the road for the same percieved effort. i can rarely get my HR up to 180 inside, but on a climb outdoors it frequently gets in the 190-200 range.